academias alemãs

Upload: daniel-pires

Post on 01-Jun-2018

231 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    1/48

    Years of academiesTalent pools of top-level German football

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    2/48

    foreword

    League President Dr Reinhard Rauball

    PerfectlY trained

    Football Made in Germany again a mark of quality

    the inve stment will PaY off

    Interview with Christian Seifert, Chief Executive, DFL

    an imPortant steP t owards a successful fut ure

    EURO 2000 signalled a rethink

    we outst riPPed fr ance long ago

    Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder in conversation

    it must be Poss ible to combin e a bundeslig a career with a le vels

    Andreas Rettig on the challenges for the future

    the talent Pool at baYer 04 leverkusen

    Werkself Academy revisited

    giving the P laYers air to breathe

    Sports psychologist Dr Uwe Harttgen on opportunities and risks

    construction boom benefits german football

    German academies are the best on international level

    the home of eintrachts Youth team

    Behind the scenes at the Frankfurt Academy

    QualitY control for the academies

    Examination of up-and-coming schools makes a good thing even better

    a reciPe for success

    DFL Director Holger Hieronymus on the advantages of certification

    a shining ex amPle of success ful integr ation

    Talents from 80 countries train and learn together

    everY PlaYer needs in dividual attenti on

    1. FSV Mainz 05 coach Thomas Tuchel on experiences with professionals and young talents

    facts and figures

    Statistics from ten years of German academies

    Publishing credits

    1

    2

    6

    810

    12

    14

    2022

    24

    26

    29

    30

    32

    36

    45

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    3/48

    Dear reaDers

    I

    t was a few months ago that the Ger-

    man national team, with its fresh,

    attacking and technically brilliant style

    of play thrilled football fans around

    the globe at the 2010 FIFA World Cup

    in South Africa. A young German team

    with an average age under 25, consisting

    exclusively of players from the Bundes-

    liga, took the world by surprise under

    the guidance of national coach Joachim

    Lw, with beautiful and highly successful

    attacking football and sent fans and

    pundits into raptures. Most lately this

    superior performance by our national

    team has shown that the measures deci-

    ded upon by the League Association and

    the 36 professional clubs in Germany

    ten years ago were correct. For all clubs,

    the compulsory introduction of acad-

    emies for young players in 2001 was the

    building block which laid the way to a suc-

    cessful future for German football. Today,ten years later, we can enjoy the fruits of

    the labour of those academies. And, of

    this I feel sure, there will be plenty more

    success to come.

    There have seldom been so many

    technically and tactically gifted talents

    playing in the Bundesliga. Bastian

    Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm and Manuel

    Neuer already belong in the category of

    world-class players. Young players such

    as Thomas Mller, Mario Gtze, AndrSchrrle or the Bender twins, Sven and

    Lars, to name but a few from the Bundes-

    liga, have the potential to reach a similar

    level. Not to mention Mesut zil and Sami

    Khedira, currently causing a sensation

    in Madrid. The German youth policy is

    internationally recognised as the model

    to be aspired to, and has even been most

    recently cited by UEFA as the best in

    Europe. The times in which we had to look

    appreciatively to France, Spain or the

    Netherlands have passed. The provisos

    laid down in the licensing from the sport-

    ing, medical and pedagogical fields, com-

    bined with a unique philosophy for every

    academy, guarantee an integral education

    of young players and ensure that these

    youngsters also have a future outside of

    football.

    We can therefore thank those clubs,

    not only that they have laid the infra-

    structural foundations but also because

    they emphasise the seriousness of player

    education by the selection of qualified

    management staff. The German Football

    Association (DFB) should also be thanked

    for its helpful co-operation in this area.

    In particular, the DFB is performing out-

    standing work with its centres concept

    and have in Matthias Sammer a provenexpert in the field of working with young

    players.

    The German youTh concepT

    has become inTernaTionally

    recoGniseD as The TemplaTe

    To be emulaTeD.

    Dr Reinhard Rauball

    President of the League Association

    1ForewordDr Reinhard Rauball

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    4/48

    Perfectly

    trainedFootball Made in Germany has again become a mark of quality Germanys elite players are proving a national and internationalsensation, ten years after the founding of the academies.

    Success stories The Stars of the Academies2

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    5/48

    T

    homas Mller, from the record

    title-winning team FC Bayern

    Munich was the top scorer at the 2010

    World Cup in South Africa at the age of

    20; national team goalkeeper ManuelNeuer, from Schalke 04, proves his

    world-class ability on a weekly basis and

    is being monitored by all of Europes top

    clubs; and Mario Gtze, at just 18, is being

    described as the latest talent of the cen-

    tury. In the past decade the academies

    have developed into true pools of talent.

    The list of top-class footballers, pre-

    pared for professional life in the 36 acad-

    emies of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2

    clubs, is constantly added to by new-

    comers such as the Bender twins, Sven

    and Lars, or by now seasoned world-class

    players such as Philipp Lahm or Bastian

    Schweinsteiger. Of a total of 525 players

    in the Bundesliga, 275 (52.4%) have

    been trained at the academies. On aver-

    age, around 15 players in the squad of

    every club have been educated in one of

    the academies. 107 (20.4%) of all Bun-

    desliga professionals today even play for

    a club at whose academy they were edu-cated. These are termed local players.

    The figures attest to the fact t hat youth

    education in the Bundesliga is bearing

    fruit. In this way the foundations are laid

    whereby the fans can increasingly look

    forward to seeing academy-trained stars

    in the Bundesliga, says League President

    Dr Reinhard Rauball. Professional clubs in

    Germany have invested well in excess of

    half a billion euros in their youth systems

    since the 2001-02 season. A good in-

    vestment which has propelled the wholeof German football back into Europes

    elite. The Bundesliga conquered the in-

    ternational stage by most recently win-

    ning back the third automatic Champions

    League place and is also hot on the heels

    of world and European champions Spain

    in UEFAs five-year ranking.

    A crucial reason for its most recent

    success is surely the outstanding work

    of the Bundesliga academies. The fact

    that they were compulsorily established

    shortly after the turn of the century

    3

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    6/48

    Club investment into the academiesin million

    80

    70

    60

    50

    40

    2002/2003

    47.85

    2004/2005

    57.79

    2003/2004

    56.92

    2005/2006

    60.87

    2006/2007

    61.63

    2008/2009

    78.24

    2009/2010

    85.70

    2007/2008

    69.20

    Total investment: approx. 520 million

    cannot be praised enough. In this sea-

    son alone 90 million has flowed from

    the League to the academies invest-

    ment which will prove worthwhile in the

    future, emphasises Christian Seifert,

    Chief Executive of the German Football

    League (DFL).

    Since 2001 the German academies

    have, at the very least, caught up with

    those of France and the Netherlands

    as models which set the best standard.

    Previously it was the Ajax Academy

    and the French Centre for Excellence at

    Clairefontaine which led the way by some

    distance. The rethink in Germany began

    with its disastrous performance at EURO

    2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands,

    when the German team failed to qualifyfrom the group stages with just one point

    and one goal. The programme to promote

    talent was launched, introducing com-

    pulsory youth academies for all profes-

    sional clubs as one of the conditions for

    maintaining licensed status. Ten years

    later the German promotion of its youth

    and elite talent is recognized throughout

    Europe.

    Thanks to the strong foundation pro-

    vided by the academies, the proportion

    of German players in licensed football is

    residing at their clubs. Without the work

    and support of the league the successes

    of the German national team would be

    inconceivable. Crucially, thanks to the

    academies, there are more and better

    educated players today than ever before.

    The German Football League is tappingthis well of talent. The national team,

    therefore, has a real chance of winning

    titles again, says Seifert.

    To ensure that these gifted young-

    sters amount to something in the future,

    the Academies Committee, formed in

    2001, is likewise working constantly

    on opportunities for improving and ex-

    panding the foundations for working

    with young talents. Under its Chairman

    Andreas Rettig, General Manager of

    FC Augsburg, the Committee will aim

    to ensure that the current positive re-

    sults in the field of youth development

    do not stagnate. We cant let ourselves

    be blinded by the recent successes of

    young players in the Bundesliga and the

    national team. The ten-year anniversary

    of the Bundesliga academies should, on

    the contrary, be for all of us an oc-

    casion to think about how,

    in the ten years to come,we can still be set-

    ting the standard

    in youth and elite

    player develop-

    ment, explains Rettig. The FC Augsburg

    General Manager is eager above all to

    extend further the co-operation of clubs

    with schools. At present it is being con-

    sidered to provide schools with football

    instructors as a service.

    When Wolfsburg captain MarcelSchfer thinks back to his time at the

    1860 Mnchen Academy, he is some-

    times reminded of a tough school. You

    tread a path which isnt always easy.

    Being away from home at 15 years old,

    you definitely shed a few tears. At that

    age you certainly dont admit it. Youre

    too proud for that, says Schfer. Today

    Schfer has become a fully-fledged

    Bundesliga professional. Nevertheless,

    Rettig sees the need for further indi-

    vidual improvement regarding football

    and schools. Every coach at an academy

    over 64%, the highest figure since the

    1998-99 season.

    Furthermore, the latest successes of

    the national team under coach Joachim

    Lw would, undoubtedly, not have been

    possible without the professional workof the coaches and support staff at the

    academies. The whole of German foot-

    ball is currently seeing the benefits, not

    only from superbly trained footballers

    but also in that youth players often attain

    an impressive level of maturity through

    2010/2011 Teams Players

    U23 35 710

    U19/18 39 843

    U17 35 721

    U16 33 645

    U15 35 687

    U14 35 658

    U13 35 613

    U12 35 568

    Total 282 5.445

    Youth playersat the academies of the 36 professional clubs

    4 Success stories The Stars of the Academies

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    7/48

    liga is making significant contributions

    to the integration of foreigners and

    people with a migration background in

    Germany. Regardless of their origins,

    players at the academies are able to

    identify with German culture. Moreover,

    they are highly motivated to learn, dis-play only minor deficiencies in linguistic

    proficiency and knowledge of the cul-

    ture they live and associate more with

    their German contemporaries than the

    national average. Alongside the sport-

    ing and educational promotion of young

    players German professional football

    thus has made a refreshing contribution

    to integration in Germany as well.

    national team level and at club level, an

    important precondition for team spirit

    and success. Moreover, young players

    enjoy a constantly improving education

    at the academies. A survey led by Dr Uwe

    Harttgen, former Bundesliga player at

    SV Werder Bremen and Hannover 96,and now director of the Werder Bremen

    Academy, shows that the proportion of

    high-school graduates at the academies

    is higher than the national average.

    A further socially important

    aspect of the 36 acad-

    emies is the fact that

    the Bundes-

    275from 525 Players

    currently Playing

    in the Bundesliga

    were educated at an

    academy.

    has taken up the cause of individual en-

    couragement and intensive communi-

    cation. The social behaviour learned

    at the academies has become, both at

    5

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    8/48

    The invesTmenTwill pay off

    Christian Seifert, Chief Executive Officer DFL, praises the work of the academies in the Bundesliga andBundesliga 2 and predicts a rosy future for the German national team.

    M

    r Seifert, ten years ago the

    compulsory implementation

    of academies for all clubs was decided.

    How important was this decision from a

    present-day perspective?

    ChrisTian seiferT: This deci-

    sion by the League Association and its

    36 clubs and joint stock companies can-

    not be underestimated. All our grati-

    tude goes to Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder,

    who consistently encouraged these

    reforms as the Chairman of the League

    Committee at the time. The outstand-

    ing work of the academies is surely a

    crucial factor behind the recent inter-

    national successes of the Bundesliga,

    but also the national team. Considering

    the clubs today one can immediately

    see the effects of this decision in every

    squad.

    In what ways?

    In the current season, 275 players

    of the 525 playing in the Bundesliga

    come from one of the 36 academies.

    This means that 52.4% of Bundesliga

    active players have been educated by

    wiThouT The work and

    supporT of The league

    The suCCesses of The

    german naTional Team

    would be inConCeivable.

    6 InterviewChristian Seifert

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    9/48

    the Bundesliga or Bundesliga 2. On aver-

    age there are 15 academy graduates in

    the squad of every club. After just ten

    years such a quota is surely no mean

    feat. That currently 107 (or 20.4%) of

    Bundesliga players are still active at the

    club where they were educated furthershows how great the trust in the clubs

    own young talent has become and just

    how good these young players are.

    At the same time the quota of foreign

    players in the Bundesliga has declined in

    recent years.

    For a long time after the Bosman rul-

    ing the situation was such that more and

    more players from abroad were obliged

    to come to Germany and young German

    talent barely had a chance. This may have

    been due to a lack of confidence in our

    own young players, but also in their inad-

    equate football skills. Through the acad-

    emies this quality has increased enor-

    mously and, with this, the confidence of

    clubs in its own youth has grown. Today,

    young German players are technically

    and tactically well-educated. As a conse-

    quence, more and more German players

    are taking to the field of professional

    football. There are already 57 Germanplayers in the Bundesliga and the figure

    is as high as 71% in the Bundesliga 2.

    The clubs have invested a lot of

    money in their academies.

    Since the introduction of the acad-

    emies in 2001, clubs have invested

    around 520 million in educating young

    players. In this season alone 90 mil-

    lion has flowed from the League to theacademies more than ever before.

    Clubs have pooled their investments

    into the infrastructure in particular.

    Training centres were built, the exist-

    ing ones were modernised or enlarged,

    highly skilled coaches were employed

    and residential schools set up, and

    much more. These are all investments

    which will pay off in the future. The

    players, who have graduated from the

    academies over a period of four, five or

    more years, are just now coming into

    professional football.

    The performance of the German

    national team at the 2010 World Cup in

    South Africa attracted worldwide atten-

    tion. What role does the League play in

    this development?

    Without the work and support of

    the League the successes of the Ger-

    man national team would be inconceiv-

    able. Crucially, thanks to the academies,there are more and better educated

    players today than ever before. The

    German Football League is tapping this

    well of talent, and because of this, the

    national team has a real chance of win-

    ning titles again.

    How can the Bundesliga maintain

    this high standard of player education?

    To ensure the quality of education

    we have introduced certification for the

    academies. Thus the clubs receive infor-

    mation from a neutral source on where

    they rank and where there is potential

    for improvement.

    What other measures are in place?

    The Academies Committee is

    constantly working on ideas for im-

    provement. Above all, networking with

    schools is being encouraged. The com-

    bination of a career in football with a

    school education or vocational training

    is elementary. Only a very few young

    talents actually make the final leap

    into professional football. We therefore

    consider it our social responsibility to

    provide youngsters, even outside of

    football, with the best possible educa-

    tion. That more young boys from the

    academies go on to a grammar school

    than the national average shows thatthis aspect of education is also taken

    very seriously indeed.

    Confidencepaying off: TobiasLevels, 24, hasbeen playingfor BorussiaMnchengladbachfor over a decade

    7

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    10/48

    An importAnt step towArdsA successful futureThe bitter first-round defeat at EURO 2000 was the key moment: at the turn of the millennium German football stareddisaster in the face it completely lacked a professional foundation. What followed was a revolution in youth development,which, on the tenth anniversary of the academies, is now globally recognised as the role model for success.

    and running such an academy was added

    to the list of club licensing parameters.

    At the outset, the current Chairman

    of the Academies Committee, Andreas

    Rettig, who led the project in its opening

    phase from 2001 to 2002, had a lot of

    persuading to do. It was clear that German

    professional football had to introduce an

    entirely new concept of education for sup-

    porting the clubs in the development of

    talent. It wasnt about a standardization

    of certain playing styles, as is customary

    in the Netherlands. Indeed, creating the

    kind of infrastructure where children and

    was quickly set up. Chairman of the League

    Committee Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder,President of the German Football Associa-

    tion (DFB) since 2001, made it a matter for

    decision at management level. The promo-

    tion of young talent lay right at the top of

    the agenda of the President of the newly-

    founded League Association, Werner

    Hackmann. The DFB launched a pro-

    gramme to promote talent and invested

    millions in basic training and fee-based

    coaches. On 28 February 2011 the League

    Association decided on the compulsory

    introduction of youth academies for all

    18 Bundesliga clubs. In fact, establishing

    I

    t was immediately following EURO

    2000 and the disappointing per-formance of the national team that the

    clubs of the Bundesliga and the German

    Football Association (DFB) called things

    to an emergency halt. The development

    and support of young and highly talented

    players had to be comprehensively re-

    newed. The youth work of the then-World

    and European champions France at their

    centre at Clairefontaine served as a par-

    ticularly strong model and guide. A task

    force, whose job it was to think outside

    the box and come up with a concept for the

    German development of young talents,

    The beginningFoundation of Academies8

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    11/48

    teens can thrive in, was (and continuous to

    be) the key objective.

    In a next step requirement specifi-cations and an agenda were drawn up.

    From the 2001-02 season onwards the

    management of the German Football

    League (DFL), formed at the beginning of

    2001, incorporated these new structures

    into the licensing regulations. One year

    later the compulsory introduction of the

    academies, which were growing in impor-

    tance, was extended to the Bundesliga 2.

    For clubs to be issued their licence (the

    precondition for admission to any official

    competition), they had to hire full-timeyouth coaches, whose respective quali-

    fications are taken into consideration

    when grading the academies, with those

    earning higher grades receiving higher

    funding. Moreover, appropriate training

    grounds had to be built, a medical depart-

    ment established and co-operation with

    schools initiated.

    Through this the framework was

    specified and, over the past ten years,

    the promotion of youth and elite talent in

    Germany, in which the professional clubs

    premier competition are distributed ac-

    cording to the strength of their academy.

    For a three-star academy, the clubs are

    promised additional revenues in excess

    of 300,000 on a yearly basis.

    Under the chairmanship of Rolf Rss-

    mann between 2002 and 2009, the certi-

    fication of academies was further pushed

    by the company Double PASS. Top of the

    list of priorities was the measurement

    and certification of quality of the acad-

    emies of all clubs to create an objectively

    assessable picture. To ensure this, every-body, including coaches and the medical

    staff, was examined. The league is con-

    vinced that this project of quality assess-

    ment will elevate German youth football

    to an even higher level.

    alone invested more than half a billion

    euros in this period, developed a momen-

    tum of their own towards perfection. In

    the current 2011-12 season, 52.4% of

    all players in the Bundesliga were edu-

    cated at an academy. Thus, thanks to the

    work of the academies, national coach

    Joachim Lw can tap into an ever-growing

    well of high-quality young professionals,

    who maintain the constant competition

    within the national team. Furthermore,

    the regeneration time of young, compre-

    hensively trained national players is far

    less than that of older professionals. Withthe help of the three-star evaluation sys-

    tem of the academies, the League Board

    has created an important incentive: the

    monies from the Champions League cof-

    fers for clubs who do not play in Europes

    2002/20032001/2002 2004/20052003/2004 2005/2006 2006/2007 2008/2009 2009/2010 2010/20112007/2008

    Bundesliga 2 Academies

    Bundesliga Academies

    Certification of Academies

    Ten years ofAcademies

    Decision by the General Assembly of the Academies

    Constituent meeting of the Academies Committee

    Constituent meeting of the Academies Committee

    Rolf Rssmannwas Chairman ofthe AcademiesCommittee from2002 until hisdeath in October2009.

    For years, DFLDirector HolgerHieronymus and

    Chairman ofthe AcademiesCommitteeAndreasRettig havebeen workingon furtherimproving youthdevelopmentfacilities.

    28/02/2001

    07/05/2001

    26/01/2011

    9

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    12/48

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    13/48

    M

    r Mayer-Vorfelder, you gave top priority to youth

    work and talent promotion. Over the past ten years

    the Bundesliga academies have become a definitive mark of

    quality. How do you assess the work of the clubs?

    gerhard Mayer-VorFelder: We can be really proud

    of our youth work in Germany. Within ten years the numberof young players in the Bundesliga has doubled. Today, these

    players edge each other out in the national team thanks to their

    fantastic education at the academies. You could say that wehave almost perfected the promotion of young and elite talent

    in Germany in the past ten years. In former times France and the

    Netherlands were the ultimate in this area but we have longoutstripped them.

    Where do you still see the need for improvement?

    It is envisaged that the academies will be extended to

    the Third Division and the regional divisions. Thanks to the

    talent promotion programmes we have good sub-structuralfoundations up to the age of 14, after which, in the best

    case scenario, the players go on to the academies. But,

    in my estimation, too many young boys are fallingthrough the cracks, because, when they are 13 or

    14, they have not yet progressed far enough to be

    considered for an academy of one of the clubs inthe Bundesliga or Bundesliga 2. Some players

    dont yet have the maturity to leave home at

    that age. Thats why we must reconsider theDFB-run training centres as a viable option

    for young players aged 1417, too. To ensure

    that all players are scouted accordingly. This isextremely important.

    What were the important aspects of founding the programme

    for the promotion of talent and the Bundesliga academies ten

    years ago?

    First and foremost we had to have a lot of money at theready. It was extremely important that the academies were a pre-

    condition for meeting licensing requirements, making this com-

    pulsory for Bundesliga clubs. I drove this idea forward in my timeas Chairman of the League Committee. Not long afterwards this

    requirement was also applied to the clubs of the Bundesliga 2.

    With this, we managed to cover the aspect of performance. Thenwe managed to create 400 centres for promoting talent across

    the whole of Germany and, after the 2006 World Cup, built over

    1,000 mini pitches. They were milestones. I have always said thatthese mini pitches replace street football, which you no longer

    find these days. You learn football there. It was a comprehensive

    promotion which, after ten years, is already showing its effect.

    This comprehensive concept also went further, right?

    Yes, the U19 Bundesliga, followed shortly afterwards by

    the U17 Bundesliga, was also part of the establishment of

    the talent promotion programme and the academies. It was

    furthermore decided to give scouting a higher priority in theinternational organisations. And the clubs entered into co-

    operation agreements with the 29 elite football schools.Players such as Mesut zil, Toni Kroos, Jerome Boateng,

    Dennis Aogo, Serdar Tasci and Mario Gomez graduated from

    one of these schools. And even the young Julian Draxler fromSchalke 04 was recently brought to an elite school so he could

    leave school with qualifications.

    Currently, migration is another hot topic off pitch in Ger-

    many. However, on pitch it doesnt seem to be an issue at all

    The academies and training centres actually make a big

    contribution to integration. On the pitch it doesnt matterwhether you come from North Africa, Turkey or Germany. And

    as German is spoken on the pitch, integration comes easier tothese youngsters, who learn the language more quickly and to

    a more competent level.

    You addressed the elite schools of football. What was done

    so that football also took on a greater significance in primary

    schools?

    We developed our own programme for primary schools,

    where staff are almost exclusively female and who have rather

    less to do with football. Anyway, currently 20,000 female andmale teachers have taken part in our programme, leading to

    children playing more football in primary schools.

    11

    We haVe alMost perFected

    the proMotion oF young

    and elite talent in gerMany

    oVer the past ten years.

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    14/48

    individualisation to education and profes-

    sional training. For the promotion of elite

    players we must move away from rigid

    lesson plans; a close interaction between

    school and professional football must

    take place.

    It is an absolutely fundamental prob-

    lem that physical education lessons at

    school are being reduced more and more

    and that, as a result, children and young

    people are getting less and less exercise.

    The significance of sport in schools has

    dramatically decreased whilst the impor-

    tance of all-day schools is on the increase.

    Thus the question naturally arises, how,

    through sport, longer attendance at

    school can be used sensibly and, above all,

    attractively. Because the longer school

    lessons last in the afternoon, the less

    time there is to do any sport afterwards.

    Hence sports at school could be given a

    whole new meaning again.

    We must now give this special em-

    phasis in our conversations with politi-

    cians. What is also important is that

    physical education is not taught by non-

    specialist teachers. Only with an educated

    P. E. teacher can the pupils enthusiasm

    for the lessons taught be guaranteed.

    Lets not forget that German football can

    benefit from the Federation of German

    Football Coaches (BDFL), with its fantas-

    tic potential of well-trained coaches, andcould therefore act as a sports service

    provider for schools. This is why we must

    manage to establish interaction at the

    highest political level.

    At any rate, in Germany we currently

    have 1,200 football coaches with a Pro

    licence, 5,000 coaches with the A licence

    and 2,500 with the B licence. Thats

    almost a total of 9,000 coaches which

    were trained for the highest levels. There

    remain many resources, which the DFL

    and the DFB could offer to schools. It is to

    As Chairman of the AcademiesCommittee, Andreas Rettig hasset out to further improve youthdevelopment in German football.While content with achievementsto date, he feels there is roomfor improvement in relationsbetween football and the schoolsystem.

    It must be possIble to combIne a

    bundeslIga career wIth a levels

    T

    he biggest mistakes in football

    are often the result of tem-

    porary hype. In that respect, we cannot

    let ourselves be blinded by the recent

    outstanding successes of young players

    in the Bundesliga and the national team.

    We cannot allow complacency to set in.

    The tenth anniversary of the Bundesliga

    academies should, on the contrary, be for

    all of us an occasion to think about how,

    in the ten years to come, we can still besetting the standard in youth and elite

    player development.

    Thus it is the task of the Acad-

    emies Committee to anticipate a leap

    in time and see what else we can improve

    upon in the coming years. I am optimis-

    tic that the quality of our academies will

    increase further in the future. What is

    especially important is that the Com-

    mittee and the representatives of the

    academies also work together in closecollaboration with the German Football

    Association (DFB) regarding youth policy.

    The interaction between education

    and football is, and will remain, an impor-

    tant theme. It must be possible in Ger-

    many that a young footballer can pursue a

    Bundesliga career whilst at the same time

    doing his A levels. Much is quite rightly

    said about individualisation in training, so,

    the individual limits of performance must

    be raised for every young professional.

    Therefore it is also logical to transfer this

    by andreas rettIg

    Guest ContributionAndreas Rettig12

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    15/48

    be hoped that politicians also recognise

    this potential. But it remains our duty to

    launch a sports campaign at school level.

    Another important issue is demo-

    graphic change. The birth rate in Europe

    has been dropping since the mid-1960s.By 2030, we will have a world population

    of around nine billion people, of which five

    billion will be in Asia. This fact should give

    pause for thought, given that there are only

    700 million Europeans which represents a

    mere 10% of total world population.

    Against this backdrop, the topic of

    migration becomes even more important

    in terms o f youth development. However,

    opportunities equally present them-

    selves if we put the potential of older

    people to practical use for youth devel-

    opment. After all, why shouldnt retired

    teachers coach our players?

    Energy is another important as-

    pect, from floodlights (for training and

    matches), water (for showers and pitch

    maintenance), fuel (for travelling) to

    under-soil heating. Here, we will also have

    to face the facts and find ways to fund

    future requirements.

    And in order to find the correct

    answers to all these questions, we should

    think about setting up a nationwide centre

    of expertise. From there, experts in

    management, training, medicine, psychol-

    ogy or lawyers and teachers could be at

    the disposal of all talents, acting as their

    first point of contact for each relevant

    field. Such a centre of competence could

    offer 36 academy places per year (one

    place assigned to each professional club)and also fuel the promotion of high poten-

    tials in management, such as provided by

    the football coaching programme of the

    German Sport University Cologne and

    that of the football academy Sportschule

    Hennef. Figures from the football world

    such as manager Uli Hoeness or coach

    Ottmar Hitzfeld could also serve as men-

    tors. This would bring a tremendous boost

    and a transfer of know-how. This is some-

    thing which also needs to be considered in

    the debate about the future of promoting

    young, talented players.

    It is the objective of the Academies Committee to improvethe promotion of young talent and make it more efficient.Representatives from the clubs, the DFB and the DFL are workingtogether on the future of German football.

    The guardians of The academies

    Since the death of Rolf Rssmann, President of the Academies Committee since

    2002, in October 2009, Andreas Rettig has presided over the panel. The 47-year-

    old general manager of FC Augsburg was the ideal choice for the job. After all, at the

    beginning of the millennium he had already done the job for two years, not least onaccount of the establishment of the Freiburg School of Football, where he was the

    recognised authority in the field of youth and elite player development.

    The Committee examines the academies of the clubs and joint stock companies of

    the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, providing for the constant optimisation of youth

    education and dealing with the harmonisation with other talent promotion pro-

    grammes of the German Football Association (DFB).

    The Committee is made up of highly qualified experts from the world of football.

    Sitting on the Committee board are, from within the ranks of the German Foot-

    ball League (DFL), Director Holger Hieronymus, as well as Andreas Nagel, Head

    of Match Operations. The Bundesliga clubs are represented by the Head of Youth

    Development at FC Bayern Munich, Werner Kern and Jrgen Gelsdorf, Youth

    Development Co-ordinator at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, as well as Dr Uwe Harttgen. Theformer Bundesliga player is currently Academy Director at SV Werder Bremen and

    successfully got a PhD in Philosophy and Psychology.

    A leading part of the development of youth work is done by Matthias Sammer,

    Sports Director at the DFB. The former title-winning coach of Borussia Dortmund

    serves as the connection between the academies of the Bundesliga clubs and the

    German junior national teams. Problems concerning the scheduling of international

    matches can thus be solved directly. Along with Sammer the DFB is represented by

    Ulf Schott, Department Head of Talent Promotion, and Frank Engel, Head of Youth

    Development.

    The objectives of the Committee are extensive. Rettig and his team must plan ahead

    for the next decade of youth player development. The Committee addresses current

    issues such as s aving energy, demographic changes and the constant improvement

    of the ties between football and education.

    Chairman Andreas Rettig General Manager, FC Augsburg

    DFL Holger Hieronymus Director Andreas Nagel Head of Match Operations

    Club representatives Dr Uwe Harttgen Academy Director, SV Werder Bremen Werner Kern Head of Youth Development, FC Bayern Munich Jrgen Gelsdorf Youth Development Co-ordinator, Bayer 04 Leverkusen

    DFB Matthias Sammer Sports Director Ulf Schott Department Head of Talent Promotion Frank Engel Head of Youth Development

    Academies CommitteeMembers appointed from the League Association

    13

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    16/48

    Other sports besides football: in anadjacent room there is a table-tennis board.

    Bayers U19 player Daniel Jamannlacing his boots in the changing rooms.

    The TalenT pool aT

    Bayer 04 leverkusenThe Leverkusen Academy is one of the best in the Bundesliga. Youth DevelopmentCo-ordinator Jrgen Gelsdorf sets great store by providing the players with the bestpossible support for both their football career and education.

    14 ReportThe Werkself Academy

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    17/48

    T

    he sign Elite School of Sport

    hangs to the left of the en-

    trance. Underneath is the emblem

    Olympiasttzpunkt Kln and Bayer 04Leverkusen Fuball with the distinctive

    club logo. At first glance, the complex

    appears to be a well-equipped sports

    compound, but one look through the glass

    door reveals that this building is the

    home of not just any sports

    club. It is one of the largest

    talent pools in German foot-

    ball: the Bayer 04 Leverkusen

    Academy.

    Behind the entrance is a

    weight-lifting room with a fitness

    course in the glass part of the

    building. Behind this stretches

    a compound which would stir the

    blood of any lover of football. Four

    superbly maintained grass pitches,

    one with a stand which turns the

    park into a small stadium, lie

    next to the big artificial pitch

    and football cage. The modern

    function room in the house,planned in great detail and ex-

    uding practical effectiveness, is

    the sporting home of 160 boys

    between the ages of seven and

    19. Each of the ten teams from

    the U8s up to the U9s enjoys its

    own changing room, immediately

    adjacent to the physiotherapy

    area. There is also a large changing

    room for the coaching and support

    staff.

    The enthusiasm with which this

    complex was formally opened at the be-

    ginning of 2000 has not disappeared. At

    that time the Bayer AG group, Bundesliga

    club Bayer 04 and the city of Leverkusen

    had made possible the building of the

    Kurtekotten Academy on this ideal site.

    Lying in the heart of the city, the large

    chemical works with the huge cross of

    Bayer, and the railway line are located

    to the west. The Leverkusen Academy is

    2.5 kilometres to the north, and 500 m

    further on, where the motorways A1 and

    A3 intersect, lies BayArena, the citys new

    landmark since the huge redevelopment.

    15

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    18/48

    There, the players educated at the academy take to the field in

    the Bundesliga and European cup competitions in the club colours

    of red and black. In the 2010-11 season these include Ren Adler,

    Gonzalo Castro, Stefan Reinartz, Fabian Giefer, Benedikt Fernan-

    dez, Kevin Kampl and seventeen-year-old Danny da Costa. Many

    others play professionally on loan at other clubs in the Bundesliga

    and the Bundesliga 2.

    Youth development at Bayer 04 Leverkusen has an excellent

    and seemingly boundless reputation. The U19s have reached the

    finals of the German Championship nine times since 1985. Four-teen of the Leverkusen youth players represented the German na-

    tional team at U16 and U18 level during the 2010-11 season. Year

    after year tournament invitations from all over the world arrive at

    the office. Bayer youth teams have already travelled to Australia,

    Belgium, Chile, England, France, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta,

    Mexico, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Austria, Peru, Scotland,

    Spain, the USA and the United Arab Emirates.

    When the establishment of academies for all clubs in the

    Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 was made compulsory, those at

    Leverkusen were a step ahead in 2001. Bayer 04 had long been

    setting the standards in youth policy. Not many people can assessthis better than Jrgen Gelsdorf. The current head of the acad-

    emy was appointed youth coach on 1 July 1986, when his career

    as Bundesliga professional had come to an end after 416 games

    for Bielefeld and Leverkusen. I was one of three full-time youth

    coaches working in the whole of the Bundesliga. Even some of us

    at Leverkusen were asking, Whats the point of all this? Is it really

    necessary?, recalls Gelsdorf. I didnt have an assistant coach. To-

    day every club has five, six or eight coaches firmly occupied with

    the youth setup. He practised as a youth coach for two years be-

    fore switching to the senior setup to become Rinus Michels assist-

    ant. On 1 October 2005 Gelsdorf returned to take over the running

    of the academy.

    The ten teams from U8 to U15 are structured as teams from

    one age group, while the Under16s/17s (so-called B juniors) and

    the U18s/19s (so-called A juniors) are put into two age groups.

    Eighty people work at the academy or LZ (Leistungszentrum) as

    the elite school is readily abbreviated. That means that for every

    two boys there is one employee. Good youth work is a staff-in-

    tensive issue. Nevertheless it is worth the effort. Five full-time

    coaches and eighteen part-timers work with the teams, every one

    of which has three coaches responsible for it. In addition, there are

    four goalkeeping coaches for special training measures, three for

    co-ordination and rehabilitation training and one for heading and

    Head of the Bayer youthsetup: Jrgen Gelsdorf

    has been Director of theLeverkusen Academy since

    the end of 2005.

    16 ReportThe Werkself Academy

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    19/48

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    20/48

    associated with the club and have been so for a long time, explains

    Gelsdorf. His office is on the upper floor, along with the team and

    coach meeting rooms equipped with TV and video, and the offices

    of the full-time employees. Downstairs are the large laundry rooms

    with their highly modernised washers and tumble driers, where the

    work clothes of every youth player are washed, as well as the kit

    storage room holding several sets of shirts for each team.

    The groups with the younger players are small. Only twelve

    boys make up a team, which still plays on a small pitch. In the vicin-

    ity of Leverkusen indoor and outdoor tournaments from age seven

    and upwards are observed. We know every talented player from

    when they are juniors, explains Jrgen Dillenburg, chief scout of

    the academy. We observe about three thousand teams with the

    youngest players. The catchment area for the older players is as far

    away as 80km towards Aachen and 40km towards the Bergische

    Land, where the influence of such clubs as Schalke 04, Borussia

    Dortmund and VfL Bochum is already felt. For years there has been

    an agreement with 1. FC Kln and Borussia Mnchengladbach thatno youngsters will be poached by one club from another. A scouting

    co-ordinator organises the approximately 20 voluntary assistants

    for the 23 football regions (nine in the Middle Rhine area, eight

    in the Lower Rhine, three for South-Westphalia and three in the

    northern Rhineland). 90% of all youngsters at Bayer come fromthis catchment area. Should they not be able to come by public

    transport or be driven by their parents, they use the travel service

    with its exact routes and bus stops. Scouting at national level be-

    gins with the U14s and U15s, the favourite hunting grounds being

    the nationwide tournaments for these age groups traditionally or-

    ganised by the DFB. Observing European and/or World Champion-

    ship matches widens the international horizon, but signing foreign

    youth players remains the exception.

    At intermediate and senior level the establishment looks very

    much like a Bundesliga team, says Gelsdorf. The squads include

    roughly 20 players. At around the age of 15 or 16 the decisive

    phase in their education begins, which, at Bayer, is broken down

    into three steps. Previously, a reliable prognosis of whether or not

    a boy could make the leap into professional football was barely

    The strips of all theyouth teams are

    stored in the kit room.Enormous washing

    machines are ready toclean them.

    18 ReportThe Werkself Academy

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    21/48

    possible. Players with an extraordinary talent for movement are

    obviously recognised, according to Gelsdorf. But even a few pro-

    fessionals, who now play in Bayers first team, had to overcomeproblems in their youth: one of them suffered from immense im-

    paired coordination after a growth spurt, whilst anothers speed

    suddenly decreased. Not everybody progressed as seamlessly as

    Gonzalo Castro, who was educated for eight years at the academy,

    making his Bundesliga debut aged 17 and playing his first game

    with the German A-team, aged 19. To develop these kids we need

    to get to them early on. If you play against others who are good,

    you improve even more, says Gelsdorf. When youngsters get older

    other problems arise. Physically and mentally they display sig-

    nificant differences. One boy goes to bed with his teddy bear, the

    other is already making an appointment with his future mother-in-

    law, explains Gelsdorf.

    The born-and-bred Duisburger also stresses the heavy bur-

    dens which young footballers often bring on themselves in the

    hope of forging a professional career. Do Not Neglect School is

    the law, not just in Leverkusen but at all other clubs academies. In

    the changing rooms, boards display which team has achieved thebest average results in the past six months and the individual rank-

    ings of the best schools. The boys have little free time. In the even-

    ings they often study for school, and at weekends they usually go

    to matches with us, says Gelsdorf.

    Fifteen youths complete a course in office administration or fit-

    ness and sports management at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, or take a job

    in the field of communications. A friendly, almost warm-hearted at-

    mosphere rules at Bayer 04s youth setup, but Gelsdorf does not shy

    away from being frank. There is hardly a better model to be found.

    But one thing should not be forgotten: it is an academy, a centre of

    excellence. Only a select few will make it and become professional

    players, explains the Head of Youth Development. We dont want

    to promise too much to anyone, but we do want to give everyone the

    opportunity to prepare himself properly for a good life.

    Going the extra mile for the dream making it as a professional: for Daniel Jamann strength training is also part of his daily routine.

    19

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    22/48

    GivinG the players

    air to breatheAs a former Bundesliga professional, Dr Uwe Harttgen knows the wishes, worries and fears of players verywell. The sports psychologist and Director of the Bremen Academy writes about the challenges on the pitchand the high demands on professional support outside the football world.

    Success at school stimulates successon the pitch. Support with homeworkis therefore an integral part of talentpromotion.

    O

    ver the last ten years the acad-

    emies of the Bundesliga clubs

    have seen a rapid and, above all, success-

    ful development. The co-operation of the

    clubs and the support from the German

    Football Association and the German

    Football League have ensured that foot-

    ball Made in Germany is again a mark

    of quality in 2011. The most recent per-

    formances of the German mens national

    team and the junior teams underline this

    development. Increasingly, talents such asMario Gtze, Thomas Mller, Toni Kroos

    and Florian Trinks are making the leap into

    the Bundesliga and are on the radar of top

    international clubs. The general setup may

    vary from club to club, but the overall goals

    are the same: to promote young talent as

    much as possible on and off the pitch.

    Thus training programmes have improved

    to a significant degree in recent years and

    social relations with these young people

    have been stepped up on all levels.

    Above all, the interaction between

    schools and football has been further per-

    fected, to meet the high demands made of

    our junior staff members regarding their

    personal career plans. At Werder Bremen

    we co-operate closely with Obervieland,

    an elite school of football. For us at the

    academy, it is very important that the de-

    mands made on young people in education

    or employment go hand in hand with those

    of professional football. It is necessary to

    continually provide the players with new

    incentives, off and on the pitch.

    Consequently, it is the task of theBundesliga academies to ensure that

    young people get the best out of this two-

    track approach, and graduate success-

    fully. We have observed that success in

    school also results in good performances

    on the pitch. This is why we want to offer

    the boys the best possible environment in

    which to grow.

    Even if this two-track education

    model requires sacrifices from the

    players, who then have only little freetime, school education is, up to a certain

    age, more important than football. Thats

    why we offer our boys the best possible

    support. We have hired Ingo Goetze

    who holds an MA in Teaching and SportsPsychology and helps young players

    both with their education, both on and

    off pitch. This includes the organisation

    of after-school clubs and help sessions

    for homework, or support with tasks

    aimed at developing certain skills. And

    the feedback we are getting from them

    is that they positively enjoy these chal-

    lenges and want to show us that yes, they

    can successfully combine their education

    with football.

    A survey, which we carried out

    together with the University of Bremen

    and the German Football Association

    (DFB) and will develop further, revealed

    that the development of ones personal-

    ity takes on a central role in the promo-

    tion of talent. Our findings confirm what

    we experience on a daily basis with the

    boys a clear improvement in perform-

    433academy places

    by dr Uwe harttGen

    Guest contributionDr Uwe Harttgen20

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    23/48

    on young players make an intensive

    debate on the topic of stress manage-

    ment indispensable. Some players wont

    be able to attend school due to league

    matches or trips with the national team,

    which can last several days, weeks or

    even months. How can they best make upfor missing these lessons? When is there

    time to study? There is a heavy mental

    burden here, especially if it extends to A

    level exams or their senior school years.

    And its not just demands at school that

    increase over time. The boys want to play

    all the time, whether it be in the U17s, the

    U19s or even the national team, depend-

    ing on their age of course. They often

    want to test themselves to their limits,

    and it is our duty to protect them from

    overdoing things.

    Parents also play an important role.

    For as long as the players are under the

    age of 18, it is absolutely necessary to

    closely involve the parents in the ongoing

    processes at school, in their childrens so-

    cial environment and their football. Only

    through intensive co-operation from an

    early stage will these tasks, burdens and

    hindrances be mastered.

    181co-operation

    initiatives

    ance in the players through the intertwin-

    ing of different social fields at an early

    stage. If they study different subjects

    intensely and their eye is not exclusively

    on football, then that is conducive to their

    personal education and performance.

    This is why we try to give the players

    room to breathe and other opportunities

    to use their spare time alongside their

    school and football commitments. Its

    very important to us that they can decide

    freely how they want to spend their lei-

    sure time. Obviously, it hasnt escaped our

    attention that many young players enjoy

    computer games. As long as this doesnt

    get out of hand, its entirely acceptable.

    But its important for them to also have a

    social life outside of football.

    However, their development on the

    pitch is an equally large proportion of

    their personal development. Football

    presents every situation which could

    arise in normal life. You can take on dif-

    ferent roles, cover different positions,

    prove you have qualities of leadership

    and defend against opposition. These

    aspects can be communicated in training

    and in competition. Through this, weak-nesses can be identified and strengths

    brought out.

    Furthermore, group dynamic pro-

    cesses help us to identify why a player,

    for example, contributes more or less on

    the pitch, and to what extent he has ma-

    tured. Only if you know how to correctly

    assess a youngster individually and in a

    team can you commence with the next

    steps of teaching. If I dont know this, I risk

    steering his development in the wrongdirection. Constructive communication

    with young people, therefore, plays an

    absolutely central role. Nowadays play-

    ers no longer want to come in for training

    and just be put through their paces. On

    the contrary, they want to be involved and

    included. They want to feel included in the

    whole learning process and need to know

    what objective needs to be achieved in

    any given training session.

    The development of youth foot-

    ball, as well as the diverse demands

    21

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    24/48

    In 2000 Borussia Dortmund possessed no proper training facil-

    ities. The field of Rabenloh, a stones throw from the stadium,

    served as a makeshift training ground, which simply did not meet

    the requirements. In spite of this BVB were Bundesliga champions

    in 2001-02, but, crucially, there was still no suitable pitch for the

    youth team. This necessitated an urgent call to action. All the more

    important then that the League Association decided in 2001 on

    the compulsory establishment of academies for every profes-

    sional club.

    Today, ten years later, Borussia Dortmund is the owner of a

    glorious academy in the district of Brackel. The facility is about to

    undergo a new extension in spring 2011. On Adi-Preissler-Allee in

    ConstruCtion boom

    benefits German footballAlmost every club in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 has built new academies or modernised and expanded existingones over the last ten years. The result has been high-class sporting performance across the German professional game.

    At the Stuttgart

    Academy youngplayers can evenplay on the roof.

    InvestmentProfessional club facilities22

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    25/48

    Borussia Dortmund has built a highly modernacademy in the district of Brackel.

    the vicinity of the Royal St Barbara Golf Club, the first team trains

    under the direction of Jrgen Klopp. So do the youth teams, who,

    especially in the higher age brackets, belong to the best in Germa-

    ny, and who have found their ideal home in the northeast of the city.

    The 36 academies run by the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2

    clubs currently accommodate 5,445 young people, ensuring they

    benefit from top training conditions and get a decent education.

    Whilst the new stadiums for the 2006 World Cup were in the spot-

    light, another construction boom went largely unnoticed.

    High-quality sporting facilities were developed or greatly ex-

    panded. As a rule, these facilities are geared towards the practi-

    cal and efficient, not the extravagant. The everyday life of a club

    revolves around these facilities, and more often than not that of

    the professional teams as well.

    1899 Hoffenheim has created a much-admired El Dorado

    for its training of footballers; FC Bayern Munich extended its fa-

    cilities on Sbener Strasse, just as Hamburger SV did in Ochsen-

    zoll. Hertha BSC modernised its training compound, which forms

    part of the Olympic stadium complex. Bayer Leverkusen opened

    the Kurtekotten facility. 1. FC Kln upgraded the pitches and

    the Geissbockheim; Schalke 04 did the same with the Berger

    Feld facility. Since the move to the Nordpark stadium, Borussia

    Mnchengladbach has enjoyed a much more spacious environ-

    ment than the club ever had in the old Bkelberg arena. Whether

    youre at SV Werder Bremens Weserstadion, VfB Stuttgarts

    Cannstatter Wasen, 1. FC Nrnberg, Hannover 96, VfL Wolfsburg,

    SC Freiburg or 1. FSV Mainz 05, or at any other club in the Bundes-

    liga or Bundesliga 2, time did not stand still. Builders, architects,craftsmen and gardeners all made their arrival. The following

    structural conditions of the academies are laid down in the licens-

    ing guidelines of the German Football League (DFL): one training

    compound with changing rooms and three grass pitches, as well

    as artificial pitches for any Bundesliga club. Two must be lit with

    floodlights; Bundesliga 2 clubs must provide two pitches, at least

    one with floodlights. In both categories a technical course must be

    set up and indoor training made possible in winter. The dimensions

    of the facility are not specified in detail, but there must be room

    for medical and physiotherapy applications adjacent to the chang-

    ing rooms of the teams and coaches. Treatment rooms, massage

    rooms, saunas and relaxation baths are compulsory.

    As far as the number of pitches is concerned, many clubs have

    exceeded requirements by far. Nine pitches including one regula-

    tion-size and two smaller ones with artificial turf currently make up

    the academy at Dortmund following the second rebuilding of the

    facility, which was opened in 2006 on the site of a former British

    army barracks. We believe we have one of the most modern train-

    ing facilities in the Bundesliga, says Director of Football Michael

    Zorc. A second highly functional building will be opened at the end

    of the 2010-11 season. While the Westphalia club has broken new

    ground, Eintracht Frankfurt consolidated its roots with the openingof the neat 7,700 square metre academy at Riederwald in October

    2010, a fine piece of architecture thanks to which the Riederwald

    complex has regained its status as the heart of the club. Now we

    have bridged the gap to every Bundesliga club, says Axel Hellmann,

    executive committee member of Eintracht. The new complex at

    Riederwald is a building block for success in professional football.

    Twelve large changing rooms, a modern weights room, a sauna and

    a restaurant round off the feel-good factor. Three and a half foot-

    ball pitches are at the youth teams disposal. That is still not quite

    enough, as those in charge quite readily acknowledge. Six pitches,

    says Axel Hellmann, is the eventual target Frankfurt is aiming to

    achieve. It is not just at Eintracht that the construction boom isworking for the benefit of German football.

    Getting down to business every afternoon duringthe workouts at Schalke 04s training grounds.

    23

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    26/48

    2

    6

    The home of

    einTrachTsyouTh Team

    At the end of 2010 Eintracht Frankfurt opened its coveted academy atRiederwald. Just as with the academies of other professional clubs, thefunctionality and elegance of the large buildings of the Eintracht complex andtraining sites dominate over 7,700 square metres of space.

    3

    1 4

    5

    3

    9

    10

    24 An insightThe Eintracht Frankfurt Academy

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    27/48

    1 Only the main pitch still conveys a

    reminder of the previous make-up of

    Riederwald, which was once the home of

    Eintrachts professionals. In the 2010-11

    season the U19 and U17 Bundesligateams play their matches here, as do the

    C-juniors with their regional games. 2 The

    Wolfgang-Steubing sports hall, (named

    after a long-serving patron of the club),

    was erected for the youth teams, but

    also for the basketball, hockey, handball,

    athletics and volleyball branches of the

    club. 60 metres long, the facility already

    proved a success in the first winter follow-

    ing its opening: full training sessions were

    held indoors in the coldest months of the

    year. 3 and 4 There are 700 square me-

    tres of administrative offices with 30 of-

    fices for 40 employees, and a residential

    building with ten apartments for young,

    talented footballers whose families do

    not live in the region furnished with a

    common room and a kitchen. 5 The dis-

    tances between the players living quar-

    ters and the offices of the coaches and

    support staff are short. In addition to en-

    couraging a better performance, the club

    concerns itself with education, social is-sues and catering. 6 The academys mod-

    ern artificial pitch was officially opened

    on 1 November 2010. 7 Second training

    field, primarily for the hockey teams but

    also used by the young footballers. 8 Two

    small pitches, one surrounded by a board,

    the other with a wall for practicing shots,

    including four heading exercises and

    moveable goals, allow for further train-

    ing variations. 9 55 square metres of

    Eintracht fan shop. 10Ten changing rooms

    are available, four of which are assignedto the U23s, U19s, U17s and U15s, and

    the rest is flexibly divided depending on

    training schedules. 11 Diva, the age-old

    nickname for the club, is also the name of

    the clubs catering hall: a meeting point for

    athletes and visitors, as well as parents

    whose children are at practice. The acad-

    emy residents have their lunch here. 12A

    state-of-the-art facility (as is the entire

    academy), the two-level gym has every-

    thing from weights to cardio machines.

    7

    8

    12

    11

    25

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    28/48

    Fully committed: ex-professional Norbert Elgertcoaches the U19s team of Schalke 04.

    Quality control

    for the academiesSince 2007 the academies have undergone aprocess of certification. Everything is assessed:from the facilities as such to the success of theyouth teams. Whoever performs well is awardedspecial bonuses by UEFA.

    CertificationAnalysis of the Academies26

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    29/48

    W hen the Double PASS teamcomes to visit the clubs ofthe Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, there is

    a kind of positive nervousness in the air.The employees of the Belgian company

    put the academies of the clubs firmly un-

    der the microscope: everything from the

    software to the hardware the clubs use

    is scrutinized. They evaluate the clubs

    playing fields, buildings and facilities;

    they check the members of staff; they

    focus on work philosophy, on principles

    and concepts of the education of young

    players and measure the results against

    these standards. They examine their

    organisation, human resource manage-

    ment and their processes, and thus es-

    sentially assess the overall performance

    of the academies with regard to their

    effectiveness.

    The procedure is called certifica-

    tion, a term which has taken on a great

    significance since Double PASS arrived

    in the German football community. In

    many areas of economy and science

    certification is a procedure by way ofwhich it is ensured that certain require-

    ments are complied with. However, ob-

    servation of the academies has shown

    that four years after the introduction of

    certification they have blossomed not

    unlike healthy, fruit-bearing trees, which

    when carefully grafted, become even

    more valuable. Certification essentially

    refined the talent pools and gave them

    even more intrinsic value.

    With the certification of the acad-

    emies we have taken another step for-

    ward and are providing sustainability in

    work with young talent. This is vit al, says

    Holger Hieronymus, Chief Operating Of-ficer at DFL in charge of the academies.

    With this process the examinations,

    which we have carried out every year

    since introducing the academies to the li-

    censing system, took on a greater depth

    of detail and intensity, says Andreas

    Nagel, Head of Match Operations at

    DFL. The fundamental requirements

    to be fulfilled by the clubs are set forth

    in the licensing guidelines of the DFL.

    Section 3, Paragraph 2, and in Annex 5

    defines in detail the duty of setting up

    and running an academy. As is the case at

    schools or universities, the same general

    setup does not necessarily mean that t hesame results will be achieved. The qual-

    ity assurance initiated by Double PASS

    with its project Foot PASS Germany has

    triggered a further rise in quality.

    During his visits to the academies,

    Rolf Rssman, Chairman of the Acad-

    emies Committee from 2002 until his

    death in October 2009, realized that the

    appraisal of the academies was a com-

    plex thing. He was the one who recog-

    nised the need to introduce an orderedsystem of evaluation. He was the pio-

    neer, stresses Hieronymus. Around four

    years ago co-operation began with the

    team from Double PASS, led by its Bel-

    gian Chief Executive Hugo Schoukens,

    whose business idea fitted in perfectly

    with the DFL philosophy. The enterprise

    was developed at the Free University

    of Brussels in 2004 and specialised in

    the management of quality in sport. But,

    to the experts, it is not just about the

    mapping and measuring of criteria of

    quality. We are measuring to see what

    Andreas Nagel,as Head of MatchOperations atDFL, supervisescertification.

    Academy

    Infrastructure andFacilities

    Effectiveness and Permeability

    Support and Training

    Organisationand Procedure

    Football Educationand Evaluation

    Communicationand Co-operation

    Personnel

    Strategy and

    Finances

    3

    2

    1

    8

    7

    6

    5

    4

    The certification process appraises the clubs academies according to eight categories.

    27

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    30/48

    can be improved, is one of the mottos

    of the employees at Double Pass, who

    also provide information and consulting

    services.

    At that time, clubs busied them-

    selves intensely with the issue of howthe academies were to be optimised.

    Overall they were aware that increasing

    attention had to be paid to medical care

    and other areas not relating to the sport

    as such. Moreover, it became clear that

    investments in the academies could not

    continue to increase at a steady rate. So

    the concept was adapted to the require-

    ments of the clubs in co-operation with

    Double PASS. This meant that clear ver-

    dicts of assessment emerged for the ex-

    aminers. And based on the transparent

    criteria applied, the clubs knew exactly

    where they stood.

    Thirty-nine clubs and joint stock

    companies took part in the first round

    of certification from 2007 until 2009.

    Along with the clubs of the Bundesliga

    and Bundesliga 2, a few clubs from the

    regional and fourth division also vol-

    untarily took part in the examination.

    Pro licence 54

    A licence 36

    B licence 216

    Pro licence 61

    A licence 196

    B licence 96

    C licence 50

    No licence 30

    Total433

    Total306

    Qualification of the 433 youth coaches in the academies

    Required state Actual state

    Twelve clubs (seven from the Bundesliga

    and five from the Bundesliga 2) made it

    into the top category with three stars.

    Eight clubs received two stars, five clubs

    received one. That the criteria applied

    was very exacting is reflected in the fact

    that 14 academies were awarded nostars whatsoever.

    Certification was up for round two in

    2010. 23 clubs took part, the majority of

    them eager to improve on their first re-

    sult, having given considerable thought to

    the question of how best to achieve that.

    In May 2011, the DFL and DFB will publish

    a Best -Practice Handbook to help the

    academies improve their rating. Although

    the system was not conceived to set of

    any process of competition between

    clubs, it nevertheless seems to have

    driven the academies to ever improve

    their performance. The DFL uses the re-

    sults from certification to allocate funds

    from UEFAs Champions League Solidarity

    Fund (7.5 million in 2009-10) earmarked

    to benefit the youth work of clubs not par-

    ticipating in the Champions League. A club

    can make over 300,000 per season on

    the back of a good academy.

    Bundesliga and Bundesli ga 2 in the 2010-11 season

    Christian Gentner won the 2003 GermanU19 Championship with Stuttgart.

    CertificationAnalysis of the Academies28

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    31/48

    29InterviewHolger Hieronymus

    T

    he certification of the acad-

    emies has taken on a huge

    significance. How was it developed?

    Holger Hieronymus: It was a

    process. At the beginning, when setting

    up an academy was made compulsory

    for the clubs and joint stock companiesof the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2,

    parameters as to infrastructure and

    staffing were stipulated. When I arrived

    at the German Football League in 2005,

    the time had come following this initial

    stage to start thinking about options for

    improvement. So we sat down with the

    directors of the academies, and by the

    end of 2006 there was a general consen-

    sus that certification was an idea worth

    pursuing.

    Who gave the impetus for the intro-

    duction of certification?

    Our colleagues from the German

    Football Association (DFB) approached

    us with an idea from Double PASS. The

    Belgian firm had developed a project

    which made possible the objective as-

    sessment of the work of the academies.Since it was specifically concerned

    with the youth side of the professional

    clubs, it came under the jurisdiction of

    the DFL. We have since adopted Double

    Passs model.

    Was there a driving force who ar-

    gued for the introduction of certification

    through Double Pass?

    One of the pioneers was of course

    Rolf Rssmann who, as Chairman of the

    Academies Committee until his sudden

    death in October 2009, deserves a lot

    Looking forwardto positive results

    through certification DFL Director

    Holger Hieronymus. of credit that the quality of the acad-

    emies has continually improved. Under

    his guidance the idea of certification

    was pitched to the clubs and discussed

    internally. We worked together on Dou-

    ble Passs tool. Some criteria were mod-ified or dropped, others we added. The

    Belgians idea was finally adapted to

    reflect our requirements and sugges-

    tions. Double Pass named our certifica-

    tion Foot Pass.

    The underlying idea of this kind of

    certification is basically quality control.

    Have the clubs attempts to come to

    terms with the topic of improving their

    processes increased noticeably since its

    introduction?

    Views are exchanged to a much

    higher degree since the introduction

    of certification. Notes are being com-

    pared more closely. Previously, the only

    relevant criterion was how many young

    players made the leap from the acade-

    my to the first team. Today there are far

    more criteria against which the work of

    the academies can be measured.

    Did the certification system with itscategories of one star, two stars and a

    maximum of three stars increase compe-

    tition amongst clubs?

    We never intended to increase

    competition between clubs. It was the

    express wish of the clubs and joint

    stock companies not to encourage any

    kind of top of the charts scenario of

    the 36 academies. Something which

    totally tallies with our ideas. Every club

    knows only its own result. However, we

    do register that results are exchanged,leading to a certain amount of ambition

    at individual academies. During the cur-

    rent round of certification, we noticed

    a heightened interest as to the results.

    Many academies want to improve in the

    next certification round. The fact that the

    results of an academy are transparent

    and easily understandable also means

    that the work they do is better appraised.

    Those in charge can be measured by their

    results. Certification has increased the

    value of the academies enormously, and

    is a recipe for success for all involved.

    A recipefor successSince the 2007-08 season the academies of the Bundesliga and

    Bundesliga 2 clubs have been certified by the DFL in collaboration withDouble PASS. DFL Director Holger Hieronymus explains the advantagesof this system.

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    32/48

    A shining exAmple ofsuccessful integrAtionYoung people from more than 80 countries play together in the academies. And integration just happens onits own, because, to the up-and-coming young players, the ability of their teammates to play good football ismore important than their background or social status.

    30 StudyIntegration at the Academies

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    33/48

    SecondarySchool

    Educational qualifications Types of schoolattended by players from the academies (%)

    Study: Integration through professional football (EBS, Faculties of Economics and Law)

    50

    40

    30

    20

    10

    0Comprehensive

    SchoolJunior High

    SchoolGrammar

    School

    4

    13

    9

    12

    20

    33 34

    29

    54

    41

    36

    15

    Germans Germans with a migration background Foreigners

    Professor DrSchmidt led thestudy.

    In a recent study, scientists from theEuropean Business Schools Facultiesof Economics and Law (EBS) analysed the

    academies of the professional clubs. Their

    findings? The academies are a model ofsuccessful integration. The Bundesliga

    with its academies is a very good and, still

    unnoticed, model of successful integra-

    tion, says Professor Schmidt, in charge

    of the study. Youngsters from different

    nationalities are thrown together in the

    academies by a mutual passion and a

    strong will to perform well, off the pitch

    as well.

    Integration is lived in the academies

    of the 36 professional clubs. The at-

    titudes of the youngsters promoted

    here are more open and tolerant, and

    prejudices against foreigners are less

    prevalent here than in the rest of the

    population. Foreign youngsters looked

    after here hail from around 50 countries.

    Add to that those with an immigrant back-

    ground and you get roughly 80 countries

    that are represented here. The young

    players also strive to get better qualifica-

    tions. The picture of footballers occasion-ally painted in the media of their primary

    interest lying in their sport, hardly applies

    to the academies. More than 50% of the

    German youngsters and 36% of the for-

    eigners looked after in the academies

    attend a grammar school, compared to

    the national average of just 47% of Ger-

    mans and 25% of young foreigners. As

    well as encouraging sport, a strong em-

    phasis is placed on pedagogical support

    in the academies. 1,500 players from the

    academies were part of the survey, theiraverage age 16 years. As a basis for com-

    parison, 2,000 representatively selected

    German citizens were surveyed in May

    2010. I was amazed that integration pro-

    ceeded so automatically and practically

    unnoticed, explains Dr Schmidt. We then

    realised that success comes as the result

    of not shouting it from the rooftops, as

    it were. Not much is actually said about

    integration. It requires no elaborate con-

    cepts. The clubs and their employees

    take a very practical approach to their

    responsibilities.

    The results of the study have sharp-ened the perception of the academies as

    vehicles for integration and raised aware-

    ness of the fact that the extraordinary

    emotional power of football is utilised

    to its full for an open society with more

    equal opportunities. The young football-

    ers in the academies are more success-

    ful in getting to know their German peers

    than the reference group of the whole

    population. They are well integrated, with

    a European and international outlook.

    Also noteworthy is that identification (atover 70%) with German culture was also

    much more pronounced than in the con-

    trol group.

    For young foreigners and those with

    a migration background, football skills

    are more important than someones ori-

    gins, club affiliation or social status. Pro-

    fessor Schmidt: The conclusion can be

    drawn that professional football helps to

    overcome boundaries often set by ones

    ethnic background, and at the very least

    allows these to be blurred.

    31

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    34/48

    Joy at shared success:

    Thomas Tuchel with AdamSzalai, a graduate of theVfB Stuttgart Academy.

    32 Guest contributionThomas Tuchel

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    35/48

    In 2009 Thomas Tuchel was promoted from coach of the U19s to head coach at1. FSV Mainz 05. Here he explains why close contact between the professional departmentof the club and the academy is enormously important for the promotion of young talents.

    At Mainz 05 the youth and first team setup is veryclosely linked and clearly structured. When we estab-lished the first team a year ago, we decided on a maximum of

    21 or 22 players in the squad. There are 18 seasoned profes-

    sionals and three or four places are kept free for the most prom-

    ising young players. A rotation of players occupying these places

    can take place every year or every other year. In the 2010-11season they are occupied by Petar Sliskovic, Eugen Gopko and

    Jan Kirchhoff. On account of his development Kirchhoff will be

    placed with the 18 regulars in the 2011-12 season, and another

    such place will be given, for example, to Yunus Malli, who joined

    us from Mnchengladbach.

    In keeping the squad small, we want to ensure that we give

    every professional the necessary appreciation. But, above all,

    our academy must be able to fulfil its own mission. Its not about

    being given a certificate with three stars, its about educating the

    players for our own first team. In any case, it is an important signal

    to young players: we have three or four guaranteed places in thefirst team squad, so snap them up!

    From an outsiders point of view the decision to limit the

    number of places in the squad to 21 may seem brave. But among

    the coaching team we have always found that, every weekend,

    only 18 players come into contention for the team sheet, and

    barely ever more than that. Thats why we remain consistent

    and have set a crop of 18 players we want to have in the first

    team squad. The club saves on costs and youngsters get the

    best possible starting point from which to launch their careers.

    In my view, its important that every player knows and feels he

    has a real chance of playing. That goes for the young players in

    particular.

    After having worked at the academy for a year myself, and

    knowing that the mutual bond of trust between myself and the

    two academy directors Volker Kersting and Stephan Hoffmann is

    extremely strong, I of course know every procedure inside out and

    know how much support is required from the professional side of

    the club. Close, regular and trusting contact is an essential mark

    of quality for an effective collaboration of the youth and profes-sional areas. At Mainz this isnt just done on paper, its a firm belief

    lived and proudly promoted by the clubs directors. Cooperation

    between the senior squad and the academy isnt left to chance or

    peoples good intentions there are clear standards of communi-

    cation, with regular meetings taking place between the coaches

    and responsible administrators on both sides

    An important instrument of this close co-operation is the elite

    training, which my assistant coach and I conduct once a month for

    the best players from the U15s to the U18s. The U19 age group

    constantly has the opportunity of practicing with the U23s or even

    the senior squad. This elite training means a lot to the youngerplayers by way of being recognized, they see their participation as

    a reward. We coach these players, giving them specific tips and sug-

    gestions, thus enabling them to lose their inhibitions about working

    with the first team coaches. Its the best way for us to get to know

    talented youngsters by name. There are roughly around 16 to 20

    players and participation is rotated every month by the academy

    directors, although approximately 80% of the group stays the

    same. We first team coaches also make a point of watching the

    home games of t he U19 and U17 teams as often as possible.

    Since the era of Wolfgang Frank und Jrgen Klopp Mainz lives

    a certain football ethos, which is an immense help in our work. It

    allows us to make the most of our opportunities. In encompasses

    EvEry PlayEr

    nEEds individual

    attEntion

    By thomas tuchEl

    33

  • 8/9/2019 Academias Alems

    36/48

    Communication with young players, as here with Lewis Holtby, is a secret of success for Thomas Tuchel.

    Thomas Tuchel 1. FSV Mainz 05

    Andre Schubert SC Paderborn 07Marco Kurz 1. FC KaiserslauternMichael Bskens SpVgg Greuther FrthFrank Schfer 1. FC KlnRico Schmitt FC Erzgebirge AueNorbert Meier Fortuna DsseldorfPeter Hyballa Alemannia AachenTheo Schneider SC Rot-Wei OberhausenMarco Pezzaiuoli 1899 Hoffenheim

    Current first team coaches and managerswho previously worked at an Academy

    Coaches

    Helmut Schulte FC St. PauliErnst Tanner 1899 HoffenheimUwe Stver FSV Frankfurt 1899

    Andre Schubert SC Paderborn 07Max Eberl Borussia MnchengladbachAndreas Rettig FC Augsburg

    Managers/Sporting Directors

    many of the clubs training principles, and is lived right down to the

    different ages in the youth setup. The playing philosophy is mal-

    leable and can, to a certain extent be adapted to suit the current

    situation, but neither I nor any of the other coaches can turn things

    upside down here. The very first focus of our playing philosophy

    involves tenacious work against the ball. Defence training is ball-oriented, and involves a lot of running, and requires the right dose

    of aggression. Its a very energetic style, with the focus on acting,

    not reacting, even if the opposition is in possession. Mainz 05 basi-

    cally favours a fundamentally British style of play: quickfire, fast-

    moving, aggressive and strong in the challenge. We have enriched

    these features with a strong emphasis on a flat passing game, so

    essentially a departure from using a lot of long-balls, with a con-

    stant attacking mentality. The aim is to get into the opponents

    danger zone fast, with precise through-passes played at a very

    high tempo.

    Training routines are geared towards this philosophy in our

    youth teams as well. Young players in the first team already know

    34 Guest contributionThomas Tuchel

  • 8/9/2019 Academia